Flawed Deception
by Jenniiibear
Summary: During Ginny's sixth year she is enlisted to deceive the enemy; befriend him. All in hopes of obtaining something that could change the fate of the Wizarding World and destroy Voldemort once and for all. However, not all deceptions are foolproof. DG
1. Chapter I: The Plan

Summary: During Ginny Weasley's sixth year at Hogwarts she is enlisted to deceive the enemy, even befriend him. All this in hopes of obtaining something that could change the fate of the Wizarding World and destroy Voldemort once and for all. However, not all deceptions are foolproof...

Author's Notes: This is an old story I decided to bring back from the dead and publish lol. And well... I won't lie to you. This story came to me while I was in the shower. If it seems odd and twisted to you... Blame the shampoo I was using. And don't worry, this will be D/G... Eventually. Lol. Much thanks to my many helpers, and especially to the ever patient Rachelle (my "unofficial" beta) who has restrained herself from whacking me over the head with large SHARP objects, no matter how much I know she secretly wanted to at times.

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, and all of it's characters... Would I REALLY be sitting here writing fanfiction instead of living in Malfoy Manor with my husband Draco? I think not! I may have slipped in several... quotes that may resemble lines from various books and movies. I do not own those either. I'm not making any profit off of this other than to sooth my desire for D/G to get together in my own twisted way.

**Flawed Deception**

_Chapter I - The Plan_

"You've GOT to be kidding me," exclaimed Ginny in an outraged fashion. "No way, no how. Nuh uh. No, no, and triple NO! I refuse to even speak to that... that... NEFARIOUS GIT!" She huffed, her small frame pacing around the common room. She avoided making eye contact with the three people before her, knowing fully the power of the pleading looks that were meant to persuade her.

The bushy-haired brunette, Hermione, was the first to try and reason with the raging redhead. "We realize it is a lot to ask of you Ginny, but there is no one else we trust enough to do this," she stated matter-of-factly, though her eyes were silently begging.

Her tone seemed to penetrate Ginny's shield of anger, pausing her tirade around the fireplace. "But why ME?" She groaned, running a less than steady hand through her long red locks.

"Because Malfoy would never believe that we would want to be nice to him for no reason. He may be a git, but he isn't stupid. He would be suspicious of us for even going near him, let alone trying to talk to him without the insults," Ron, another - albeit taller - redhead explained.

"And for good reason too," Ginny muttered under her breath.

"We need someone who can slip through his defenses," Ron continued, blatantly ignoring her quiet remark

"And there is no way he would let any of us three in. But what could he have to fear from someone like you? Other than for his reputation and a beating from your six older brothers, of course," Hermione added.

Ron nodded in agreement. "You know I'd never ask you to do something like this if there was any other way, Gin." His eyes narrowed for a moment before he voice sank to a growl. "Just the thought of you being near scum like him makes me want to curse him into the next century."

For an instant Ron looked ready to jump off the crimson couch, run out of the Gryffindor Common Room and inflict bodily harm onto Draco Malfoy. Anticipating his rage, Hermione placed her hand on his arm lightly and said calmly, "Now Ron, if you did that we would never be able to obtain it. Especially not within three months." Her voice,as much as her touch, seemed to get through Ron's stubborn side; he visibly relaxed.

A sigh of relief swept through the common room. Hearing this caused Ron's ears to turn bright pink, which sent them all into fits of laughter. Ron's temper was infamous throughout the school, almost as well known as his protectiveness towards his baby sister.

Even he chuckled a bit at the absurdity of the situation, although a bit grudgingly at first. When they had finished laughing, everyone had slight smiles on their faces. Sadly, moments like this were rare given the dark times the Wizarding world was currently in.

Voldemort and his followers had slowly been regaining power since the Dark Lord's return a few years earlier. His powers were at their climax now and the Order's spies reported that something BIG was in the works for the summer, only now three months away. Each of them were aware of this, and they knew of the pressure on Harry's shoulders to finish the Dark Lord once and for all. Their faces turned grim at these dark thoughts and they sat in silence for some time.

It was Harry who broke the oppressive silence, speaking for the first time since Ginny had been brought into their plans. "We need you now more than ever Ginny, the entire Wizarding world needs YOU. It's future could depend on this." His green eyes were dark and troubled.

"No pressure though," Ginny muttered. The trio were giving her pleading looks again, and she couldn't very well abandon them, and especially the entire Wizarding world, now could she.

"Oh alright, I'll do it." She sighed. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it!" Ginny added briskly, narrowing her eyes at them, particularly at Ron who had a large silly grin on his face.

Ignoring the menacing look she was giving him at the moment, Ron, rather unwisely, jumped up and gave the small girl a tight hug that abruptly cut off her air supply. "Let me... go," she coughed, "right this instant... Ronald Weasley!" Ginny pounded her fists on his back while trying to kick him in the shins.

Ron let go of her when she started turning different shades of red, and quickly stepped back out of her range, before giving her an innocent look. "You make sure Malfoy doesn't get away with any funny business, okay?"

"I think Ginny can handle herself just fine, Ron," Hermione interjected quickly before Ginny could fire a nasty retort; Her temper was second to none except her mother's, which was only because Molly Weasley had many more years experience than her daughter. Ron's temper paled in comparison to either of theirs.

Suddenly something occurred to Ginny for the first time. "Can someone please explain just HOW in Merlin's name I am supposed to approach him, let alone befriend him, and gain his trust?" Ginny asked hopelessly, throwing herself down on the couch beside the dark haired boy, Harry, who kept his eyes downcast. When strands of her long hair fell into her eyes, she sighed and blew them out of her vision.

"Oh." Was all Ron said, as he and Hermione exchanged looks, "well... you see," he started. "We hadn't really thought that far in advance," Hermione finished for him, blushing slightly. "Oh." Ginny replied with a note of surprise in her voice. She had figured that they had planned every last detail out before approaching her to help them.

Thinking that the troubled looking person beside her had remained strangely quiet during this entire exchange, Ginny tried to get him to share his thoughts. "So, what do you think Harry?"

The messy haired boy looked at her for a moment before his emerald eyes shifted towards Ron and Hermione. He pushed his round glasses up the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Well I had a bit of an idea. But usually my ideas are crap and only end up causing trouble for everyone involved."

"Trust me, anything is better than nothing at all!" Ginny said and gave Harry an encouraging smile.

"If Malfoy had friends, I might have something. But he doesn't really have any friends. I mean, look at Crabbe and Goyle! There isn't enough brains between them to put together a decent sentence, let alone a conversation. And the way Pansy looks at him is as if he were an expensive pet of some sort --"

"What about Blaise Zabini?" Hermione suggested.

Ginny thought about this revelation for a moment before commenting. "They seem to be get along. I haven't seen Malfoy put him down before and that must mean something certainly! He seems to put down everyone, even other Slytherins. That would sort of imply that they have a mutual respect at least, right?"

The others nodded at this, and Harry continued with his idea. "Well if Zabini is Malfoy's friend, or at least someone he trusts, then you could befriend him."

When he didn't say anything else after awhile, Ron looked at him as if he had grown a second head and said in a tight, strained, voice, "So you want Ginny... To befriend a Slytherin that Malfoy respects, and then fraternize with the ferret himself? I hate to admit it Harry, but this idea of yours is rubbish." His blue eyes narrowed and he fairly glowered at the idea of Ginny making friends with the whole of Slytherin.

"No, no," Harry rushed onward, fearing his life was on the line, "I only meant it'd be far easier for Ginny to become friends with someone he respects, if she wants to get to Malfoy. He might not be so suspicious then, if she's already chummy with Zabini."

Hermione mused over the idea for a moment before stating, "I think that might just work."

Ron's head nearly flew off his neck as he swirled about to stare at her flabbergasted. "Not you too! How would it work for her to befriend every Slytherin?!"

Hermione sighed, brushing her hair out of her face, before saying in a tired voice, "She wouldn't be socializing with all of Slytherin, Ron. Just someone close to Malfoy to help gain his trust."

He hated to admit it, but the way she had put it seemed fairly reasonable. "Oh... Well that makes sense I suppose," he said, pacified with Hemione's response for the moment, to everyone's major relief.

"I think there may be a flaw in your plan Harry," Ginny announced, biting her bottom lip. "The idea to buddy up to Malfoy's friends is good and all, but how does that not make THEM suspicious of me?"

Everyone went quiet for a moment and then they turned towards Hermione to wait. It only took a few seconds for her to exclaim, "I've got it!"

"I can't believe I let Hermione talk me into this!" Ginny muttered quietly to herself as she walked around Hogwarts castle. She'd been wandering around for nearly two and a half hours, all the while looking around corners to hide from Filch, and at the same time find Zabini.

Grumbling some more as she looked around yet another corner, Ginny became silent as she finally spotted her prey. She could almost have kissed the statue beside her in relief. 'One thing down, only 3 billion four hundred and sixty-eight left to go', she thought to herself.

Striding down the hallway towards her was a tall boy with short dark hair, only just a bit older than herself, known to all as Blaise Zabini - Slytherin prefect, and he was holding an apple in his hand. Thanks to the ever knowledgeable Head Girl, Miss Hermione Granger, Ginny had found out that Blaise had prefect's duty near the kitchens on Tuesday evenings. The timing had just been too perfect for Hermione to allow her to miss, though her brother had objected, saying that it was too late for her to be alone with another male that she wasn't related to. It had been 7:45pm then.

Straightening her shirt and smoothing down her skirt, Ginny slowly counted to ten in her mind, a stress technique Hermione had showed her. It never seemed to calm her nerves though.

As he was about to turn the corner, she took a deep breath and started walking towards her unsuspecting victim.

Ginny later surmised that Zabini must have picked up some speed going around that corner because the next thing she knew she was on the ground and aching everywhere. Groaning from the fall, she heard several strings of impressive curses that would have made a sailor's mother proud echo down the corridor. Holding her throbbing head in one hand, Ginny picked herself up off the floor and dusted herself off with the other. Her back seemed heavy and damp from laying on the floor, but she presumed she would live.

Her victim didn't seem too worse for wear, though he had lost his apple somewhere and his clothes were disheveled from the collision. His hair was slightly mussed as well.

Ginny blushed when he turned his dark eyes on her, and she immediately began cursing herself for agreeing to this."Uh.. Sorry about that, um..." She trailed off, looking anywhere but at him. This entire idea was insanely stupid; she might as well get the heck out of there. With that thought in mind, Ginny turned to high-tail it out of there when his voice stopped her.

"I think you have something of mine, Weasley."

Turning around slowly, Ginny wondered for a moment how he knew her name, but then figured that it must be that accursed hair of hers. It was certainly not hard to miss. Especially when she kept it as long as she did; it fell almost to her waist. "I do?" She asked, slightly puzzled.

"My apple seems to like your shirt," he said with a smirk.

Blinking, Ginny felt her back with her finger tips and laughed when she felt the apple clinging to the material. It slipped away from the shirt and fell the floor with a thud. "Truly sorry about that...?" She blushed again.

"Blaise. Blaise Zabini." He finished for her.

"Right, sorry about that Zabini. Perhaps if I had worn another shirt your apple would not have liked it so much," she said with a weak smile. "How about we go get you another apple so I can make up for my shirt's misbehaviour?"

Blaise seemed to contemplate his answer, but his smirk had widened, betraying his act. "Well I was terribly fond of that apple, but I suppose I could allow another could take it's place. And where bychance are we going to find an apple after curfew Miss Weasley?" He questioned, moving towards her.

Ginny stared at him before stating what should have been the obvious answer, "why the kitchens of course!"

He merely raised an eyebrow at her. "I hope you know where the kitchens are, because I haven't been there since my third year, and I can't seem to recall the way for the life of me." He admitted this rather grudgingly. Ginny rather suspected he had attempted many times to find it. Zabini had probably walked right past it hundreds of times, and probably again only minutes ago.

Ginny gave him a dazzling grin, showing off her straight white teeth, and said, "I'd be putting all of my poor dear brothers to shame if I didn't know where the kitchens were Zabini. I don't think Fred and George would ever forgive me."

"Ah yes, of course. Lead the way then milady!" He said with false extravagance before completing the act with a mock bow. Looping his offered arm through hers, Ginny began directing him towards the kitchens. It didn't take them very long to reach there, thankfully, and once she had tickled the pair they entered the fabled Hogwarts kitchens.

There were only a few House Elves on duty by that time, and Ginny shooed them away, promising if they needed anything they would call.

Sitting down at a nearby table, Ginny grabbed an apple that was in the fruit basket and tossed it at Blaise. She laughed when he almost missed it. "Good catch," she said mockingly with a slight smile on her face.

"Thanks Weasley," he said rather unthankfully.

Ignoring his tone, Ginny smiled wide and said with a voice that was fairly dripping with honey, "you're very welcome then." Using her normal voice, Ginny asked," Do you have any siblings, Mr. Zabini?"

He seemed to wince at the name.

"That is what people call my father, Weasley. I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me that. I know I'm old, but only a year more so than yourself... and no, I don't have any siblings. Thank Merlin." Ginny laughed at his answer.

"I'll only agree to stop calling you Mr. Zabini if you agree to stop calling me Weasley. You're lucky you're the only Zabini here, I've been stuck with SIX brothers my whole life. All of which answer to the name Weasley. Gets frustrating after awhile when you realize it isn't YOU they are talking to."

"I can only imagine," he said dryly.

"Of course you can only imagine. We've already come to that conclusion. You're almost as bad as Charlie," she accused, rolling her eyes, "He's always pretending to act dumb too."

He gave her an odd look. "I honestly have no bloody idea what you're going on about, woman."

"You can't imagine what it would feel like living in a family where there are seven people around constantly, all of which answer to the name, Weasley, since you don't have any siblings of your own, of course. Only your father shares your name with you," Ginny explained.

With an audible sigh, Zabini gave in to her demands. "Alright, if you don't want me to call you Weasley, what should I call you?"

"Ginny, of course," she responded without hesitation, "That's what everyone calls me." She gave him a look that clearly said he had asked a silly question.

He thought about it for a moment, his dark brows raised in consideration. "No, I don't think that will work," Zabini concluded simply.

Ginny was rendered dumbstruck for an instant, but she quickly came to her senses a moment later and snapped, "And just why not? It's a name, as good as any other." She defiantly crossed her arms and tilted her head proudly, all the while narrowing her eyes at the Slytherin prefect.

"But that's just it. If I were to call you that, I would sink to the level of those pathetic Gryffindors."

Seeing Ginny was about to explode, he held up a hand for her to keep quiet. "Not all Gryffindors, mind you, some I could almost admire... almost. But they do allow some riff-raff into that house of yours. I agree I cannot call you Weasley, but I utterly refuse to call you Ginny either," he finished with a distasteful look on his face.

She was about to reply with a nasty remark before she realized it would get her nowhere. She did have a mission to complete after all, though that seemed to have slipped her mind lately.

"My real name is Ginevra. Ginny is short for it," she conceded with a defeated sigh.

Zabini thought the name over before nodding. "Yes, Ginevra will do. Much better than that other name," he said with a grimace. "Since I'll be calling you by your first name, I'll expect you to show me the same courtesy."

Ignoring his comment, Ginny asked, "What courses are you taking this year," she paused, "Blaise?"

He smirked at her before replying.

Time passed swiftly after that, and Ginny found she actually didn't mind Blaise's presence. He wasn't always the easiest to talk to, as he did have a habit of being sarcastic every once in awhile, but Ginny just dismissed this off as a Slytherin trait that had been embedded in him. And not once did he insult her family, unlike a certain other Slytherin had the habit of doing. Blaise turned out to be rather good company, listening patiently to her ramble on about her life.

After yawning several times in a row, Ginny realized it must be getting late. It suddenly hit her that her brother, and most likely Hermione too, would be waiting for her to get back to give a full report. Hurriedly Ginny said her goodbyes to Blaise, but not before promising him that she would visit him again next week, same time and place.

When she got back to the Gryffindor Common Room, she was immediately bombarded by questions from her brother before the Fat Lady had even finished swinging open. Hermione had to drag him back so that Ginny could step inside.

"Nice to see you too, Ron," she said with a half yawn, half laugh.

"How did it go?" Harry asked, with a slightly worried look on his face.

Rubbing her eyes, Ginny replied. "Rather well if I do say so myself." When they continued to stare at her, Ginny fumbled for something to say. "Blaise was... fun to talk to actually," she admitted half smiling.

Ron frowned at this, but before he could voice any thoughts, Ginny headed up towards her dormitory.

"I'll be meeting him next week, same time. Hopefully after that I can get him to introduce me to his friends," Ginny told him without looking back, "I want to get this over with as soon as possible!"

The next morning it proved tough for Ginny to concentrate in class. She was tired from her late night, but she was also rather apprehensive about actually having to pretend to like Malfoy long enough to befriend him. 'I'll just have to wing it I suppose', Ginny thought as she left Charms.

As she turned a corner, she was hit with a sense of deja vu when she bumped into something and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Oof!"

"We really need to stop meeting like this Ginevra," came a slightly amused male voice from somewhere above her. A voice Ginny recognized.

Standing up and dusting herself off, Ginny replied, "Yeah, but at least there isn't an apple stuck to my shirt now." Just to be sure, Ginny felt her back as Blaise actually laughed. It was only then that she noticed he had company with him: Malfoy.

The anxious feeling that had haunted her all day reappeared in an instant and she almost felt physically sick from it. The need to escape him washed over Ginny when she noticed he was smirking at her.

"I've got a ton of work to do so I'm off to the library. I'll see you later Blaise," she said quickly, trying to move past him and Malfoy.

"We were just about to head that way too, weren't we Malfoy?" Blaise nudged him with his elbow, hard.

"Whatever." Was all the blond said, still giving Ginny his "I'm-superior-to-you" smirk.

"Why don't you join us Ginevra?" Blaise suggested.

She was about to politely decline the offer when Malfoy said with a sneer, "I'm sure Weaslette has to get back to being Potter's shadow right now."

For some odd reason his remark surprised her. She hadn't even had thoughts about Harry that way since her third year. But Ginny recognized the challenge that was issued in his voice.

She gave Malfoy one of her most charming smiles, with an undertone of menace in it, before saying sweetly, "I'd love to join you guys." Moving past the tall pair of Slytherins, Ginny began walking in the direction of the library, Blaise following close behind with Malfoy.

-- End Chapter One --

Mwahaha. No cliffie yet. coughs But soon... Mwahaha. coughs again Not very likely but I can always dream right? Anyways... Let me know what you think :)

Jenniiibear


	2. Chapter 2: The Research

Author's Notes: Hey :) Thanks to those who added this story to their alert! Hopefully some of you will review after reading this chapter hehe. I would love to get some feedback! Hopefully you enjoy this chapter... it is shorter than I had originally planned to be, but the next part just didn't fit in here yet! You will see... mwaha.

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, and all of it's characters... Would I REALLY be sitting here writing fanfiction instead of living in Malfoy Manor with my husband Draco? I think not! I may have slipped in several... quotes that may resemble lines from various books and movies. I do not own those either. I'm not making any profit off of this other than to soothe my desire for D/G to get together in my own twisted way.

**Flawed Deception**

_Chapter II - The Research_

Ginny was in a foul mood by the time she reached the library, her previous nerves smothered by her anger. During the entire trip she could feel the force of Malfoy's sneer on the back of her head. Blaise spoke quietly with him, but Malfoy remained strangely silent; Ginny secretly thought he was plotting something against her in his devious Slytherin mind. He was a Malfoy after all.

As she reached the doors first, Ginny - being the kind and considerate Gryffindor she was - held them open for the Slytherins to walk through. Blaise nodded his thanks to her and entered the library.

Malfoy however, paused for a moment before the doorway. His sneer turned into a smirk, which gave her the distinct impression he was thinking, 'You know your place in this world Weasley, holding doors open for your superiors.'

Infuriated, Ginny scowled fiercely. Without thinking, she turned on her heels and entered the library, releasing the door in the process.

Ginny chuckled to herself with satisfaction as the door slammed in Malfoy's face, causing him to jump backwards with a rather undignified yelp.

Blaise just shook his head when Ginny neared him, causing her to grin widely. 'Serves him right,' she thought to herself.

Walking over to her usual table, Ginny plopped down into the nearest chair and dumped her books onto the wooden surface while Blaise wandered over to a nearby bookshelf and began browsing.

Finding the book she needed from the pile, Ginny propped her Potions text in front of her. Snape had complained today in his usual fashion about how slow the 6th year Gryffindors were at remembering what they had learned last year.

"I daresay that you Gryffindors are the most pathetic excuse for students I have seen in my 14 years of teaching here. I require Outstanding level work from all of you, whether you are intending to attempt N.E.W.T. or not. This will result in detentions for those who do not meet my expectations. Now, let's try again, shall we? A minimum of two feet of parchment will be due tomorrow on the Draught of Peace. Now get out of my sight!" Snape had threatened before dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

She had just begun to read the article on the Draught of Peace in her Potions book when a shadow was cast over the page, obscuring her vision.

Craning her neck to look over her shoulder, Ginny realized that Malfoy had finally decided to enter the library.

"So nice of you to join us, Malfoy," she said innocently, "I was beginning to think you'd gotten yourself lost!" Blaise attempted to stifle a laugh behind the book he had picked up and begun reading, but was unsuccessful. Malfoy shot him a baleful glare, to which Blaise innocently, for a Slytherin anyway, ignored.

It was then her turn to bed scowled at, but she ignored the dark look. Turning her attention back to her book, Ginny added, "And if you could move out of my light, that'd be great."

She heard a shuffling noise behind her, and Ginny gathered that Malfoy had gone off to scowl by himself, as her light was no longer being blocked. She attempted once more to memorize the potion's ingredients listed in her highly entertaining reading material.

'Now where was I... Oh, here it is. Essence of hellebore...' Absorbed in the text as she was, Ginny's quill, which she had previously been gripping, fell to the table with a soft 'thud' when she heard a scornful voice right by her left ear.

"Not even Potter could get lost with the library door in his face, Weasley."

Swirling around in her chair to face Draco, she retorted furiously, "I would appreciate if you did not talk about my friends that way, Malfoy." Her eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at him.

"I can do anything I please, Weasley. I, at least, know my place in this world – a concept which you cannot seem to grasp," Malfoy sneered, towering over her.

As suddenly as he appeared, Malfoy turned on his heel and stalked off towards the back of the library, leaving Ginny to shoot death glares at his retreating form.

"Stupid... bloody... git.." she muttered under her breath, glaring at her book murderously.

"What did the poor book ever do to you, Ginevra?" Blaise asked with a raised eyebrow as he gracefully sat down opposite her.

Looking up, Ginny stated matter-of-factly, "It's a Potions textbook. That alone is reason enough for any Gryffindor to despise its existence."

Blaise just shook his head. "I apologize for Malfoy's... behaviour. I would say something along the lines of 'He's not so bad once you get to know him', but I have the nagging suspicious you would doubt me."

Laughing, Ginny replied, "And you'd be right in that assumption."

Blaise sighed before rising from his seat. "I had better go and make sure that Malfoy isn't doing something stupid like setting fire to any books or, Merlin forbid, sulking." He smirked at the thought before walking away in the direction Malfoy had gone.

Shaking her head at the oddity of Slytherins, Ginny turned back once more to look at her Potions homework. Though the prospect of working on it had seemed horrid in the beginning, the idea of even reading another sentence now was enough to make Ginny shut the book with a snap and begin to collect all of her belongings.

Once she was done, Ginny gathered up her bag and started toward the exit. She paused mid-step when another bright idea came to her rather suddenly. Turning on her heels, the redhead glanced around before trying to inconspicuously head in the direction the two Slytherins had taken only minutes before.

It was only by sheer luck rather than skill that Ginny managed to come across the two boys in the immense Hogwarts Library. Ducking behind a nearby bookcase before they could spot her, Ginny strained her ears to hear what they were saying. Her attempt was in vain, however, as all she could hear was muffled voices.

'Well this was a stupid idea!' Ginny cursed herself silently while slumping to the ground in defeat. She couldn't get any closer to the pair without being spotted, and she couldn't leave in fear they would discovered her spying on them.

Ginny sat where she was for a moment, wondering what to do next, when she had the sudden urge to slap herself. Reaching into her bag, Ginny rummaged around before pulling out exactly what she needed: Extendable Ears.

Briefly contemplating where her brain had wandered off to today, Ginny quickly put one end of the flesh coloured string into her ear and placed the other on the ground. "Go," she commanded, and the end of on the floor wriggled off towards where Malfoy and Zabini were deep in conversation.

Their voices suddenly magnified as if they were right next to her.

She mentally reminded herself to thank Fred for sending her the magical device at Easter. Her last pair of Extendable Ears had been 'borrowed' by one Ron Weasley and were never seen nor heard of again.

Putting aside her thoughts, Ginny set to work listening to the conversation that was going on while sneaking glances at the voices' owners through cracks in the bookshelf.

"-n't believe you Malfoy," Blaise was shaking his head slightly as he said this. "You of all people know what I am, what will become of me, and where I come from. After all, you are practically in the same boat, mate."

Draco's expression darkened as he scowled. "Yes, I know all about this 'boat' business. But you have no need to flaunt this information publicly."

"I am not flaunting it, and I hardly think you should be the one to talk there, mate. I am sure you have not forgotten the mess-"

"Yes I can recall that meeting quite well, Zabini. The question that remains, however, what are we going to do about it? I can just imagine what Scarhead and Weasel's reactions to all of this will be. But it really shouldn't come as a surprise to them, they have known others in our... 'boat'. Deal with them on a regular basis, no doubt," he sneered.

"Are you still going on about that?" Blaise looked up at him in surprise. "You really must get over that incident Malfoy. It was years ago, and no permanent damage was done. He fully recovered after all," Blaise said, turning to glance at the titles of book-spines on the shelf next to him.

Ginny's mind raced, trying to remember an incident where someone close to Malfoy had been hurt. She almost snorted out loud before she caught herself. 'The only people Malfoy cares about are himself and...'

It hit her so suddenly Ginny almost fell into the bookcase in front of her - he cared about his family! Harry had helped to put Lucius Malfoy in Azkaban a few years ago, where he only stayed for a couple of months until his connections and money got him out. 'He fully recovered after all.' One would have to recover after being in that horrible prison for any length of time.

'But what was all that rubbish about boats?' Ginny asked herself silently. 'And what do Blaise and Malfoy have in common besides the fact that they are both from wealthy fam-'

She was snapped out of her intense thoughts when movement ahead caught her eye: Malfoy and Blaise were both moving away from their enclosed corner of the library and heading straight for her hiding spot.

Grabbing the Extendable Ears, Ginny hurriedly shoved them into her bag before she ducked low and moved swiftly towards the end of the bookshelf, trying not to make any noise. She had just managed to turn the corner completely when the Slytherins passed her previous location.

Exhaling in relief, Ginny slumped against the bookcase. Taking a deep breath to steady her racing heart, she counted to one hundred in her head before allowing herself to move towards the exit.

--

End of Chapter Two Yay! -Jenniiibear


	3. Chapter 3: Further Investigation

Author's Notes: Hey :) Thought I would update this one now. Let me know what you think! :) Review please and thankyou!

**Flawed Deception**

_Chapter Three: Further Investigation  
_

When she was safely back in the Gryffindor Common Room, Ginny allowed herself to think about what she had heard in the enclosed corner of the library.

She could understand Malfoy's reason for being angry at Harry. The Boy Who Lived did after all have a part in his father's arrest, even though the imprisonment had only for a few months. Who wouldn't be mad if it were his father? She could not, however, grasp for the life of her what all of the 'boat' nonsense they had been spouting was about.

"When in doubt... ask Hermione Granger!" She recited aloud the Gryffindors' commonly used answer to questions they didn't know; Ron was constantly begging her for answers to their homework.

If anyone could figure out her problem it would be Hermione. 'And it isn't like I can ask anyone else, now is it?' She added to herself sarcastically.

Glancing about the room, Ginny spotted her brother Ron playing chess with a rather brilliant 5th year.

There was, however, no Hermione by his side. 'Now how do you fancy that? When I actually need them together, they aren't.' While cursing some guy named Murphy, whom she had heard was the cause of such occurrences, Ginny wandered over to where her brother was currently winning a chess match.

As she approached the youngest male Weasley Ginny immediately saw that her brother was only three moves away from an inevitable checkmate. 'Always winning, it's no wonder he can act as big-headed as Percy sometimes!' Ginny rolled her eyes at the thought.

Ron chose this moment to look up from the board. Ginny plastered a sisterly smile on her face before sitting down next to him.

"Hey Gin, what's happening?" he asked her as he glanced back down at the chessboard again.

"Oh, nothing much really," she replied nonchalantly. Asking where Hermione was right away would only make him suspicious and cause him to interrogate her; the last thing she needed right now was another Ron panic attack.

"Only three more moves huh, big brother?" Ginny said teasingly, poking him with a finger in the shoulder.

"Yup, this kid here put up a good show there for awhile, but he made a mistake and let up his defences. So I took his Bishop, which then left the way open for my castle to take his Queen. And after that pawn," Ron nodded to the piece in the 5th year's hand, "moves to block my Knight - which he must do as his King is in danger - I will use my Bishop," he said picking up the said piece, "to take his castle." The Bishop knocked the Castle off the board rather violently.

"Then, after he moves his Knight," which the 5th year was in the process of doing, "to block my Bishop, I will take it with my Knight," he picked it, "and take his." The Knight fell to the floor.

"Checkmate!" Ron exclaimed triumphantly, as if he had just won a game of Quidditch against Slytherin.

Ginny just rolled her eyes behind his back. She was quite used to Ron's antics by now, especially after having been his only chess partner last summer - or at least up until Harry came to stay with the Weasleys for the last two weeks of vacation, that is.

"Good game Ron," she told him, with enough enthusiasm to make people turn and stare at her for a moment.

"It was!" he exclaimed modestly. "Thanks for the game, mate," Ron said to the defeated 5th year - whose name no one could quite recall - before he wandered off, probably to try and forget the match in a tankard of butterbeer.

"So..." Ginny started, pausing to pick up a fallen chess piece on the floor. "Where's Hermione? She missed your amazing victory." The short redheaded girl just barely managed to say this with a straight face.

Ron, who was in the process of cleaning up the board, snorted at this. "Oh probably off 'talking' to those House Elves in the Kitchens again. Always on about SPEW that one. Should never have taken her to the Kitchens in the first place. Must have been sloshed or something..." He muttered that last part quietly.

"Off her rocker she is," he continued, "if she thinks she can get those Elves to give up working at Hogwarts. Doesn't seem to think it is a privilege, no matter the job. Next she'll start petition to help Filch out since he's 'helpless and abused'. Helpless my arse! He'd hang us by our toenails if he could! Said so in my first year, he did. Almost as bad as Mal-"

"Thanks for the entertainment, Ron," Ginny interrupted swiftly before he could finish his next thought. "But I really must be off, three and a half foot essay in Potions due tomorrow. You know how Snape can be if isn't at least two inches over the amount he assigned," she said this all very convincingly - it was probably true, anyway.

"Ugh, Potions! Don't even get me started on that! Snape has it in for us Gryffindors. You should see the way he treats Hermione, Ginny. Called her an insufferable know-it-all he did! He had no bloody right to say that about her," the tall red-haired male fumed.

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes again, Ginny just nodded her head in agreement with her brother. 'Like you've never thought that about her before.' She kept this remark to herself though; she had gotten her daily portion of Ron-rants for today - as well as enough for the three months left of school, if not more. If she heard anymore, Ginny thought she might just go barmy.

She decided to put a stop to his tirade before he could catch his breath. "Don't we all know how he is. Well, I'd best be off else I won't finish in time, and then he will give me detention for sure! See you later Ron." Ginny hurried out of the common room before he could utter another word.

--

It was twenty minutes after Ginny had left the Gryffindor common room when she realized something pretty important: she had no idea where Hermione would go after visiting the Kitchens. Having passed by the Kitchens where there was no sign of Hermione - only a few rather distressed house elves - Ginny had taken to wandering around aimlessly ever since.

'Fiddle sticks!' she thought fiercely. 'Fiddle sticks! Fiddle sticks!' Ginny had not faltered in repeating this lovely chant since leaving the Kitchens.

She would have kept it up even longer, but a voice decided to interrupt her thoughts, "Ginevra...? All right there?" This was of course the deep voice of Blaise Zabini. Looking up, Ginny saw the concern on his face for her mental well-being. She prayed that she hadn't spoken aloud.

Ginny took the time to glare at him darkly for a moment before retorting. "No, I am not alright. I can't even find the pain-in-the-arse Head Girl! On any other day she is always right there, sometimes even when you don't want her to be. But when you really need her for something, she is suddenly everywhere you are not."

'This is all your fault Murphy!'' she accused silently, giving Blaise an even darker look than before since Murphy wasn't currently around.

The Slytherin just raised his eyebrows and merely asked, "Perhaps I can be of some assistance?"

About to give him a piece of her mind, Ginny just caught herself in the nick of time before she said something she would most likely regret later. "I'm just looking for Hermione, is all," she sighed in defeat.

He smirked for a moment before slowly replying. "Then I can be of some assistance to you, Miss Ginevra. I happened to see the Head Girl en route to the library not too long ago."

"Brilliant! " she exclaimed. "Now if only she'd stay put for five minutes," Ginny muttered that last underneath her breath.

Running past the dark haired boy, Ginny raced towards the library. "Thanks Blaise," she called over her shoulder.

He just shook his head at her retreating form and muttered, "I never thought I'd say this, but for the sake of everyone in the library, I hope Granger is still there."

--

The Goddess of luck, fate, fortune, or possibly a combination of all three must have been smiling on Ginny, for once, as she finally managed to corner the elusive Head Girl.

After giving Hermione a piece of her mind, the red haired girl finally got down to the point as they sat down at a nearby table.

"What does it mean if someone says they are in the same 'boat' as someone else, Hermione?" Ginny rather admirably managed to ask discreetly.

"Oh that just means that they are in the same situation as the other person. They are going through the same experience, that sort of thing. Why do you ask?" Hermione asked curiously, obviously seeing past Ginny's attempt at discretion.

Thinking fast, Ginny spoke quickly, "Oh well I was... um... complaining to Colin... about our... Potions assignment! And I mentioned how I hadn't started, and he said he was in the same boat as me. I just thought he was being daft or something. You know, he likes to joke around and stuff. And being muggle-born, he knows all these weird muggle phrases that I don't and I just thought he was trying to make fun of me or something like that." Saying anything fast enough will make it believable, Ginny was told.

Hermione looked at her strangely for a moment, before asking dubiously, "Is that all you hunted me down for?"

Ginny just stared at the short woman for a second, before replying, "Uh no... Not really anyways. I just wanted to let you know that Ron was ranting in the common room again about S.P.E.W."

Her response seemed to satisfy Hermione, as she said, "Again? I thought he had gotten over it last year."

Shaking her head, the brain behind the 'Dream Team' inquired, "So how is... it going Ginny?" She paused for a moment while looking around to make sure they were alone. "Have you made any progress?"

Groaning, Ginny shook her head. "No, not much anyways. Blaise is nice enough, even with all of his Slytherin habits, but I can't even have a decent conversation with that great ferret!" she huffed.

Hermione looked at her sternly. "You really must try harder Ginny. We all know what he can be like, but you need to put aside your opinions of him and make him forget the family you come from. You have less than three months now Ginny, after all. The sooner it is done, the better chance we have of winning."

Ginny knew better then to argue when Hermione was giving a lecture. Swallowing her temper for once, she just nodded her head in compliance. "I know, Hermione. I will try my best."

This made Hermione smile at the younger Gryffindor. "We know you won't let us down Ginny." The Head Girl got up from the table and said, "Well, I must be off again, I am afraid. If I leave Ron alone too long, he starts irritating other students, and then I have to deal with it later." Sighing, she picked up her things and left the library.

Ginny was about to get up and leave as well when a familiar sneering voice stopped her. "What will you have a better chance of winning when it is over, Weasley?"

With dawning horror, Ginny whipped her head around and her eyes confirmed what she had feared. Her ears were not deceiving her: Draco Malfoy was standing right behind her table, now only partly concealed by the towering bookshelf.

Ginny decided then and there that this was definitely not her day.

--

End of Chapter Three! :D Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tried to leave it on a bit of a cliffie, just for fun! Let me know what you guys thinks! Feedback is definitely appreciated. Thanks --Jenniiibear


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